,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #aij  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,march #g1 #bjai,mr4
 ,pallone 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,bilirakis1
 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,ms4 ,speier1 ,mrs4      
,napolitano1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,ms4      
,eshoo1 ,mr4 ,sherman1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 
,ms4 ,clark of ,massachusetts1 ,mr4     
,costa1 and ,mr4 ,carbajal7 submitted   
the following resolution2 which was     
referred to the ,committee on ,foreign  
,affairs  ,,resolution  ,expressing the 
sense of the ,house of ,representatives 
supporting visits and communication     
between the ,united ,states and the     
,republic of ,artsakh at all levels of  
civil society and government4  ,whereas 
peace1 stability1 and democracy in the  
,caucasus region are in the political1  
security1 and economic interests of the 
,united ,states and are matters of      
international concern2 ,whereas the     
,united ,states considers any effort to 
determine the future of the ,republic of
 ,artsakh1 formerly the ,republic of    

,nagorno-,karabakh1 by other than       
peaceful means1 including acts of       
aggression1 blockades1 or threats       
against civil aviation1 a threat to     
peace2 ,whereas the ,united ,states     
remains committed to the ,organization  
for ,security and ,cooperation in       
,europe's 7,,osce7 ,minsk ,group        
negotiations toward a durable and       
democratic resolution of outstanding    
status and security issues related to   
the ,artsakh ,republic2 ,whereas the    
,artsakh ,republic was one of three     
parties to the #aiid cease-fire that    
ended major military hostilities between
 ,artsakh and ,azerbaijan1 and remains  
committed to a negotiated1 non-violent  
resolution2 ,whereas the ,artsakh       
,republic took part in ,,osce           
negotiations until #aiih1 when1 at      
,azerbaijan's insistence1 the ,,osce    
blocked its democratically elected      
representatives from full and direct    
participation in negotiations regarding 
its future status and security2 ,whereas

 the ,artsakh ,republic has developed   
democratic institutions1 fostered a     
pluralist political system1 and1 over   
the past quarter century1 held          
parliamentary and ,presidential         
elections that have been rated as free  
and fair by international observers2    
,whereas the ,artsakh ,republic1 along  
with the ,united ,states1 ,armenia1 and 
the ,,osce1 support cease-fire          
monitoring proposals to strengthen the  
#aiid cease-fire1 including--  7#a7 an  
agreement from all sides to not deploy  
snipers1 heavy arms1 or new weaponry    
along the line of contact2  7#b7 the    
placement of ,,osce-monitored1 advanced 
gunfire-locator systems and             
sound-ranging equipment to determine the
 source of attacks along the line of    
contact2 and  7#c7 the deployment of    
additional ,,osce observers along the   
line of contact to better monitor the   
cease-fire2  ,whereas the ,united       
,states since fiscal year #aiih has     
provided over #de million to the victims

 of the ,artsakh-,azerbaijan conflict1  
including projects to deliver maternal  
healthcare1 provide clean drinking      
water1 and clear minefields in ,artsakh1
 with ,secretary of ,state ,rex         
,tillerson stating that the ,united     
,states remains focused on completing   
demining as quickly and as thoroughly as
 possible2 ,whereas current ,department 
of ,state policies and practices place  
self-imposed restrictions on travel and 
communications between the ,united      
,states and ,artsakh1 limiting oversight
 of ,united ,states taxpayer-funded     
assistance programs and discouraging the
 open dialogue and discourse that can   
contribute to a peaceful resolution of  
,artsakh-related status and security    
issues2 and ,whereas open dialogue and  
communications contribute to greater    
international understanding and         
facilitate more effective conflict      
resolution3 ,now1 therefore1 be it      
,that the ,house of ,representatives--  
7#a7 affirms its commitment to          

supporting actions that encourage visits
 and communication between officials    
from the ,united ,states and ,artsakh at
 all levels1 including cabinet-level    
national security officials1 general    
officers1 and other executive branch    
officials1 to travel to ,artsakh and    
openly and directly communicate with    
their ,artsakh counterparts2  7#b7      
encourages open communication1 meetings1
 and other direct contacts between      
officials of ,artsakh and the executive 
and legislative branches of the ,united 
,states ,government1 representatives of 
,state and local governments1 and       
representatives of ,american civil      
society2 and  7#c7 calls for the full   
and direct participation of the         
democratically elected ,government of   
the ,republic of ,artsakh in all ,,osce 
and other negotiations regarding its    
future4